The potential of small holder technology in quinoa producing communities of the Southern Bolivian Altiplano

Damiana Astudillo
Mickey Leland International Hunger Fellow, Congressional Hunger Center and Bioversity International

Uyuni Salt Flat region

Southern Bolivian Altiplano

Quinoa plant

Bolivian woman roasting quinoa

Stone bowl to place the hot grains

Cleaning the quinoa grain of the saponin dust by the wind

New cleaning machine

Local community studying the new machine

At 4,000 meters above sea level, the Uyuni Salt Flat region in the Southern Bolivian Altiplano is truly one of the most amazing landscapes on earth. The native flora and fauna includes tall-2,000 year old cacti with colorful flowers and fruits, llamas, vicuņas, a 12,500 square kilometers salt flat and the deepest and bluest skies make the setting worthy of a national geographic front page report. Intrinsic to this landscape is the harsh environment that surrounds it. The salt flat region experiences extreme temperatures that range from -18C° to 27C°. In this arid landscape, the soils are mostly sand with as little as 1% of organic matter. Precipitation in the area on average reaches only 250mm per year and overnight frost is present about 225 days of the year. Reaching and transportation in the area is a challenge to say the least as infrequent 50 year old buses have to fight their way through dirt roads and paths.

This is the context in which hundreds of communities surrounding the salt flat live. These are communities of Aymara and Quechua origin who have adapted to these hard conditions over thousands of years. For women in these communities, manually getting a couple of buckets of water from underground wells and walking long distances to obtain dry bushes for fuel—is a major part of their daily routine. The basis of the livelihood for these families is a limited agricultural production that includes quinoa, bitter potatoes, fava beans and llama (and other Andean camelids) livestock raising. Market development of quinoa in the last 20 years and the recent access to international markets has allowed families to generate incomes that on average are considerably higher than the incomes of other rural populations in Bolivia. Yet this income in a context of extreme marginalization and structural poverty is not enough to transform the harsh and difficult existence for these rural households. A trip to the market to obtain provisions including fruits and vegetables is a costly 3-day affair. The limited agricultural production and the difficult access to markets continue to contribute to malnutrition in the area, despite the increased incomes from the sale of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa).

Quinoa, a highly nutritious grain with a good content of quality protein (12% to 18%), complete with essential amino acids, vitamins and minerals, is a resource that, if maximized, could contribute to better nutrition in the families. Unfortunately quinoa, which used to be a staple food present in this population’s daily meals, is no longer consumed as it was before. In response to an increased market demand, families in the area have significantly increased the production of quinoa. This involves a lot more work hours for all family members— leaving women less time to prepare the meals. Moreover, the linkages to markets and additional income have made it possible for families to access “modern” easily prepared yet less nutritional foods such as pasta, rice and processed foods.

Although families have a general awareness of the nutritional content of quinoa and the grain is part of their traditional dietary culture, it is consumed progressively less as families adapt to this transition. While the decreased consumption can be attributed to several factors, one of the main obstacles is the considerable time and work required to process the grains. Quinoa grains from the salt flat region are covered with a layer of saponin that needs to be removed prior to consumption. The job of removing the saponin is traditionally done by women and it requires as much as 6 hours to process 12 kg of grain. The process involves the roasting or toasting of the grains, the stepping on the hot grains in a stone bowl with bare feet (which creates friction and loosens the saponin), the cleaning of the saponin dust by the wind (which is achieved by dropping the grains from above), the rinsing of the grains in a couple of waters and the drying of the grains in the sun. This process is done outdoors and normally after harvest season--this means women enduring extremely cold winter winds for the 6 hours that the processing of the grains takes. In addition, the process causes women other health problems such as blisters on their feet, lower back pain and pain in their joints.

In collaboration with a local mechanic and with the generous funds of the Congressional Hunger Center, a small machine that replicates this process was built and tested in several communities. The machine is capable of processing in about 7 minutes the same amount of grains that takes a woman 6 hours. Furthermore, compared to the manual process, the machine is better able to maintain the ring of the grain where the protein and the amino acids are concentrated. Participatory evaluation of the machine was done in several communities in the area. The evaluation involved a blind testing of the grains processed manually and in the machine as well as contingency evaluations. Acceptance of the small processing machine was broad; women who brought quinoa to be processed were extremely excited at the prospect of having a machine for use in their communities. The machine is expensive for any one family to buy ($800 US) but people in the community are willing to pay a user fee according to the amount of quinoa they process in the machine. While the needs of the communities are great and will require large investments to truly lift them from poverty, this small machine has great potential to actually have an impact on the livelihoods of this population. The machine will reduce the burden of women’s work, have a positive impact on their health and potentially improve household nutrition by facilitating the consumption of a nutritious grain. This is a low-input high-impact opportunity for any organization committed to practical rural development and the improvement of livelihoods of marginalized populations.

Contact

Damiana Astudillo-Eterno
damiana.astudillo@gmail.com

Further reading



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